Georgia Southern Officers Sporting Body Cameras

Georgia Southern police officers are working to stay ahead of the controversy by wearing body cameras and using in-car recording systems at the Bulloch County school.

34 Georgia Southern patrol officers are wearing body cameras and four of their patrol cars are equipped with video equipment, according to the University.

The University says the Office of Public Safety is dedicated to transparency and proper conduct of patrol officers in the community. They say it will bring about accuracy and accountability, simple settlements of complaints, and can also be used for training purposes. Best of all, it benefits officers and students – the videos cannot be altered or deleted. The data is downloaded at the end of every shift and saved for 90 days.

“The addition of in-car and body camera equipment is something our department has been working toward for some time, said Laura McCullough, interim chief of police of the Georgia Southern Office of Public Safety reported to WSAV. “We recognized a couple of years ago the advantages of having video cameras for both the benefit of community and law enforcement officers. With current events and the social climate as it is today, it is even more important that we do all we can to continue to be as open and transparent as possible.”

Currently, no officers from the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, the Statesboro Police Department, the Town of Register Police, the town of Brooklet Police, and the Portal police are using such technology.

The Office of Public Safety used leftover funds to purchase Watchguard Video devices. They office is also applying for grant funding for more in-car devices from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.